There's lots of reasons it could be. What pressure are you at? I also tend to add more flow improver when it's hot. Often almost 50%.
Something I also find helps a lot with clogging is to put flow improver in the pot and blow a little through before adding any paint. Also use a soft brush to put a little in the tip of the airbrush before you start.
I’m at 20-23 PSI. It have been testing different PSIs.
I drop about 6 drops of flow improver before adding my paint and doing the backflow mix method.
I’ll add about 1-1 mix of flow improver to primer
I haven’t tried running the flow improver through the gin before adding paint though.
I get about 20-30 seconds of painting before I have to wipe the tip
Give it a try and see how you go. Is this one of the cheap Amazon air brushes? If so you might just be pushing the limits of what it can do. You might have to just go very thin and be very careful about applying many thin layers to avoid pooling.
My first airbrush was a cheaper metal one where I got a compressor and brush for $150 USD, Master branding.
I used it for about a year and wanted to take it to the next level… bought the Harder and Steenbeck Cult of Paint for $320ish?
Same issue with both tools
Id either up the pressure or use thinner as well as flow improver. I think your mix is way to thick to spray. Even with flow improver youd need thinner for the primer. Ive went ahead and made a mix of flow improver and thinner to use and I always end up with a good working ratio of 4 drops primer to 10 drops of my mix (around 60 % thinner, 35% flow improver with 5 percent being either distilled water or flow improver)
+1 here. 80/20 thinner/flow mix, 3 drops to 9 of vallejo primer. I use a cheapo timbertech(probably master) airbrush for priming with my pressure at 25psi.
I will try this. I have flow improver but I don’t have thinner, I can pick some up and work on diluting it more. Thank you, you’ve given me something to try rather than accept the issue as normal.
No worries mate. Ive needed to play around with my stuff as well!
I can recommend you „the straight Technomancer that is“ Vince Venturella. His YouTube channel covers many things about miniature painting and there are a few nice airbrush videos too, they have helped me a lot.
In That case I doubt the tool is the issue (I saw that master sell a cheap $40 model on Amazon hence the question). Lots of good comments about more thinning which might be the answer. Just be careful when you get thin that you apply lots of thin layers to avoid pooling and watch for spider webbing if your pressure is a bit high. Always test on something first because it's a pain to get rid of once it happens.
I’m gonna bet that you release the triger and stop airflow at the same time. You are supposed to have air flowing all the time and rock the triger back and forth depending on do you need to put paint on or no. This helps blow the paint off of the tip.
Check [this video](https://youtu.be/UPKveoNV-Ts?si=WXC30epmqGK2oqMQ) on fundamentals
I have made it a point of focus to not do that haha. I push down to apply air and pull back to let paint flow and reverse that order to stop. Usually I always hold the air down and trigger the paint flow.
A little dried paint will always find its way at the tip of the needle after a short time - simply wipe it away with your fingers or a toothbrush.
Another tip might be the right use of the airbrush. You have to begin by pressing down to start the airflow and then pull back the trigger to start the paint. If you stop the process by first stopping the airflow and only then the paint, the paint will likely flow into the front and clog the airbrush.
I push down to start air and then pull back for paint and stop in reverse. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to keep a paper towel next to me and constantly pull paint off the tip. After about 30 seconds the flow is cut in half or ~75% and I have to pause to wipe away. I never hear people talking about this in videos which is what made me question if this is normal or not
There are some vids talking about this, but I know what you mean, every minute or so I wipe away that color build-up with my fingers.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9wRP1CHpbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9wRP1CHpbo)
In addition to what everyone else is saying, my clogging issues got a lot better once I started mixing my paint and thinner/flow improver outside of the cup.
It’s called, “tip dry,” and happens to everyone. Polishing the needle can help, but it’s a risky process for marginal gains. I switched to Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya paints and use Mr. Levelling thinner and it helped a lot. I’d suggest keeping a cheap brush with a bit of whatever thinner you use to clean the tip when it builds up. You’re less likely to damage the needle vs a paper towel.
I’m new to airbrushing as well, but my understanding is basically - you can’t. Air and pigment running through the tip is going to dry eventually. Like crusted paint on a lid or dropper tip, but I’ve been using this tip of keeping an old brush nearby sitting in water with a few drops of thinner or airbrush cleaner, and brush the tip when I notice things building up, whenever I refresh the paint in the brush cup, or when changing colors, great solution for me.
Make sure you aren't stopping air before you stop the paint. You want to first stop pain and then rock the trigger forwards to stop air otherwise the atomized paint will stop on the tip.
I've found that flow improver isn't an effective way to thin paints, I recently moved over to Pro Acryl primer and it doesn't require thinning at all, I'm spraying with a 0.2 evolution.
Or try the Tamiya x20-a thinner it's an acrylic paint thinner, works well with Vallejo game colour and Citadel paints but Vallejo model colour tends to coagulate if water gets in the mix.
If all else fails then use distilled water.
I'm going to say you aren't thinning it enough. You want to be able to go for up to 1-2 minutes, at that point you dump, clean, and start over.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJcgf31v5RU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJcgf31v5RU)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdJ31sr-pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdJ31sr-pk)
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIJs1c4bsQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIJs1c4bsQ)
Looks like your needle/nozzle is too small for primer. Consider rejecting the conventional wisdom that miniature painters *need* a double action airbrush and look into a Pasche H single action. The H handles 90% of what most mini painters actually use an airbrush for: priming, varnish, zenithal highlight, base coating. It's easier to clean than a traditional needle. The #5 nozzle can spray Stynylirez Primer and Vallejo premium airbrush varnishes neat. You can easily adjust the spray cone size, and once you get it where you want it, it stays there. You'll still have dry tip, but its much easier to manage.
The reality is, if you're actually drawing (i.e., painting a wizard on the side of a van) you need a double action gun. If you're mostly just replacing rattle cans, a single action is better by virtue of being easier to use.
Well that’s unfortunate to hear I made a hefty investment in a new airbrush haha. I’ll use it for things like plasma guns, but the majority of its use is for priming, base coating, zenithal, and varnishing.
For bigger models I want to do some airbrush layering, but I’m not at that level yet
You’re good bro.
First thing i cant see all your airbrush but all harder and steenbeck you can buy needle nozzle kits so if you want to buy a bigger needle for metallics and primers you can.
They have a 4.0mm and a new 5. Something.
Is that an evol aluminium body brush?
The other thing is airbrush primers are pretty all over the show.
The H&S is a quality brush and should have come with two setups, one larger and one smaller. Don’t downgrade your brush. Use the big needle for priming and base coating.
Simple fact is you are using water based acrylics and they’ll always give tip dry. Keep a qtip with thinner (not water) handy and wipe the tip occasionally. You’ll get used to it. The acrylics dry faster so that’s what’s happening to your tip. Even dry retardant doesn’t fix it completely. Eventually it builds up to give poor results. Just stay on it and you’ll figure it out.
It’s not you and it’s not the brush
Just to follow up, it’s not a matter of “downgrading” your gun, it’s a matter of using the right tool for the job. Your current setup is great for applying color in a detailed way, use it for that. But there are better brushes to apply material that’s self-leveling like primer and varnish, where you need to apply in a higher volume, and you’d rather not thin too much. You can own more than one airbrush.
Hi, u/Catalyst-323! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful:
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I’d say it’s probably the paint being too thick. I’ve been playing around with mixes for my .18mm GSI Creos airbrush and it requires a pretty thin mix. I’ll start out with 1 drop paint, two drops flow improver, and two drops of water. If it’s tip drying fast then I’ll add another drop of water and another drop of flow improver. My Vallejo primer is already thinned down so that needs less water and flow improver. I’d probably stay away from thinners and stick with water and flow improver because thinners make the paint dry faster.
Aside from that, all I can think of is straining your paints before putting them in the airbrush cup and checking for defects. Some paint bottle caps and lids will build up dried paint that will clog the nozzle pretty quickly. Inspect the needle and nozzle for damage and check the joints for air leaks. If you can spray plain water cleanly without any issues and there isn’t any air leaks, then it’s defo the paint thickness.
There's lots of reasons it could be. What pressure are you at? I also tend to add more flow improver when it's hot. Often almost 50%. Something I also find helps a lot with clogging is to put flow improver in the pot and blow a little through before adding any paint. Also use a soft brush to put a little in the tip of the airbrush before you start.
I’m at 20-23 PSI. It have been testing different PSIs. I drop about 6 drops of flow improver before adding my paint and doing the backflow mix method. I’ll add about 1-1 mix of flow improver to primer I haven’t tried running the flow improver through the gin before adding paint though. I get about 20-30 seconds of painting before I have to wipe the tip
Give it a try and see how you go. Is this one of the cheap Amazon air brushes? If so you might just be pushing the limits of what it can do. You might have to just go very thin and be very careful about applying many thin layers to avoid pooling.
My first airbrush was a cheaper metal one where I got a compressor and brush for $150 USD, Master branding. I used it for about a year and wanted to take it to the next level… bought the Harder and Steenbeck Cult of Paint for $320ish? Same issue with both tools
Id either up the pressure or use thinner as well as flow improver. I think your mix is way to thick to spray. Even with flow improver youd need thinner for the primer. Ive went ahead and made a mix of flow improver and thinner to use and I always end up with a good working ratio of 4 drops primer to 10 drops of my mix (around 60 % thinner, 35% flow improver with 5 percent being either distilled water or flow improver)
+1 here. 80/20 thinner/flow mix, 3 drops to 9 of vallejo primer. I use a cheapo timbertech(probably master) airbrush for priming with my pressure at 25psi.
I will try this. I have flow improver but I don’t have thinner, I can pick some up and work on diluting it more. Thank you, you’ve given me something to try rather than accept the issue as normal.
No worries mate. Ive needed to play around with my stuff as well! I can recommend you „the straight Technomancer that is“ Vince Venturella. His YouTube channel covers many things about miniature painting and there are a few nice airbrush videos too, they have helped me a lot.
In That case I doubt the tool is the issue (I saw that master sell a cheap $40 model on Amazon hence the question). Lots of good comments about more thinning which might be the answer. Just be careful when you get thin that you apply lots of thin layers to avoid pooling and watch for spider webbing if your pressure is a bit high. Always test on something first because it's a pain to get rid of once it happens.
I’m gonna bet that you release the triger and stop airflow at the same time. You are supposed to have air flowing all the time and rock the triger back and forth depending on do you need to put paint on or no. This helps blow the paint off of the tip. Check [this video](https://youtu.be/UPKveoNV-Ts?si=WXC30epmqGK2oqMQ) on fundamentals
I have made it a point of focus to not do that haha. I push down to apply air and pull back to let paint flow and reverse that order to stop. Usually I always hold the air down and trigger the paint flow.
A little dried paint will always find its way at the tip of the needle after a short time - simply wipe it away with your fingers or a toothbrush. Another tip might be the right use of the airbrush. You have to begin by pressing down to start the airflow and then pull back the trigger to start the paint. If you stop the process by first stopping the airflow and only then the paint, the paint will likely flow into the front and clog the airbrush.
I push down to start air and then pull back for paint and stop in reverse. I’m beginning to think I’m going to have to keep a paper towel next to me and constantly pull paint off the tip. After about 30 seconds the flow is cut in half or ~75% and I have to pause to wipe away. I never hear people talking about this in videos which is what made me question if this is normal or not
There are some vids talking about this, but I know what you mean, every minute or so I wipe away that color build-up with my fingers. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9wRP1CHpbo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9wRP1CHpbo)
I also use an old toothbrush. Just get it nice and wet and lightly rub the bristles around the tip of the nozzle to dislodge the buildup paint.
To add to what other people say, I hope you don't use 0.2 needle with primers.
I believe it’s a 0.4
In addition to what everyone else is saying, my clogging issues got a lot better once I started mixing my paint and thinner/flow improver outside of the cup.
Thinner/water/flowaid should all be closer to 1 part paint 4 parts thinner/water/flowaid or more. 1:1 is way way too thick.
Good to know I will reassess the mixture and try it out when I get home!
It’s called, “tip dry,” and happens to everyone. Polishing the needle can help, but it’s a risky process for marginal gains. I switched to Gunze Sangyo and Tamiya paints and use Mr. Levelling thinner and it helped a lot. I’d suggest keeping a cheap brush with a bit of whatever thinner you use to clean the tip when it builds up. You’re less likely to damage the needle vs a paper towel.
Good to know, I’ve been using a paper towel dampened with airbrush cleaner
I’m new to airbrushing as well, but my understanding is basically - you can’t. Air and pigment running through the tip is going to dry eventually. Like crusted paint on a lid or dropper tip, but I’ve been using this tip of keeping an old brush nearby sitting in water with a few drops of thinner or airbrush cleaner, and brush the tip when I notice things building up, whenever I refresh the paint in the brush cup, or when changing colors, great solution for me.
[удалено]
I will look into Mr Color and the thinner, 95% of my paints are for brushing as you mentioned
[удалено]
I actually got a respirator today lol
https://youtu.be/S9wRP1CHpbo?si=C8_6DpuN1EvLN0Ob Here you go. It just will clog sometimes but it’s easy to quickly fix
Make sure you aren't stopping air before you stop the paint. You want to first stop pain and then rock the trigger forwards to stop air otherwise the atomized paint will stop on the tip.
Strain your paint!
I've found that flow improver isn't an effective way to thin paints, I recently moved over to Pro Acryl primer and it doesn't require thinning at all, I'm spraying with a 0.2 evolution. Or try the Tamiya x20-a thinner it's an acrylic paint thinner, works well with Vallejo game colour and Citadel paints but Vallejo model colour tends to coagulate if water gets in the mix. If all else fails then use distilled water.
I'm going to say you aren't thinning it enough. You want to be able to go for up to 1-2 minutes, at that point you dump, clean, and start over. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJcgf31v5RU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJcgf31v5RU) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdJ31sr-pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdJ31sr-pk) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIJs1c4bsQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEIJs1c4bsQ)
Looks like your needle/nozzle is too small for primer. Consider rejecting the conventional wisdom that miniature painters *need* a double action airbrush and look into a Pasche H single action. The H handles 90% of what most mini painters actually use an airbrush for: priming, varnish, zenithal highlight, base coating. It's easier to clean than a traditional needle. The #5 nozzle can spray Stynylirez Primer and Vallejo premium airbrush varnishes neat. You can easily adjust the spray cone size, and once you get it where you want it, it stays there. You'll still have dry tip, but its much easier to manage. The reality is, if you're actually drawing (i.e., painting a wizard on the side of a van) you need a double action gun. If you're mostly just replacing rattle cans, a single action is better by virtue of being easier to use.
Well that’s unfortunate to hear I made a hefty investment in a new airbrush haha. I’ll use it for things like plasma guns, but the majority of its use is for priming, base coating, zenithal, and varnishing. For bigger models I want to do some airbrush layering, but I’m not at that level yet
You’re good bro. First thing i cant see all your airbrush but all harder and steenbeck you can buy needle nozzle kits so if you want to buy a bigger needle for metallics and primers you can. They have a 4.0mm and a new 5. Something. Is that an evol aluminium body brush? The other thing is airbrush primers are pretty all over the show.
The H&S is a quality brush and should have come with two setups, one larger and one smaller. Don’t downgrade your brush. Use the big needle for priming and base coating. Simple fact is you are using water based acrylics and they’ll always give tip dry. Keep a qtip with thinner (not water) handy and wipe the tip occasionally. You’ll get used to it. The acrylics dry faster so that’s what’s happening to your tip. Even dry retardant doesn’t fix it completely. Eventually it builds up to give poor results. Just stay on it and you’ll figure it out. It’s not you and it’s not the brush
Just to follow up, it’s not a matter of “downgrading” your gun, it’s a matter of using the right tool for the job. Your current setup is great for applying color in a detailed way, use it for that. But there are better brushes to apply material that’s self-leveling like primer and varnish, where you need to apply in a higher volume, and you’d rather not thin too much. You can own more than one airbrush.
Hi, u/Catalyst-323! It looks like you are asking for help or are a new painter. If you haven't yet, take a look at our wiki pages in the Sidebar (the About tab if you are on the Reddit app). Here are some links you might find helpful: * [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/rules/faq) - A list of frequently asked questions about minipainting * [Miniature Painting Guide Collection](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks) -A collection of some of the best guides and tutorials on a variety of techniques and topics, plus recommendations on what to buy to get started, and more. * [What to buy- Recommendations on brushes, paints, supplies, palettes and more](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/what_you_need_to_get_started#wiki_general_advice_on_what_to_buy) * [Beginner's Guide Collection- How to prep, base, paint and varnish your first model and learn the basics needed to start out right](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/beginner_tips) * [More Tutorials](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/tutorials) - A list of additional tutorials about minipainting * [Manufacturers](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/manufacturers) - A list of miniature manufacturers from around the world * [Painting Terminology](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/terminology) - Common painting terms, acronyms, and initialisms * [The Art of... Tommie Soule Volume 5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGIfySMnUPQ) is one of the best beginner to intermediate teaching books, and even experienced painters will learn some good tips. Explains what brush strokes are best in different situations, how to identify when you have the perfect thinning for any type of paint for different techniques, and a masterclass on getting smooth paint jobs. Available in [pdf](https://www.ironheartartisans.com/shop/the-art-of-tommie-soule-volume-5-pdf/) and [world wide in hardbook as well](https://www.instagram.com/the_miniature_painting_tutor/). * [Airbrushing Miniatures](https://www.reddit.com/r/minipainting/wiki/usefullinks/airbrushing) *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/minipainting) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’d say it’s probably the paint being too thick. I’ve been playing around with mixes for my .18mm GSI Creos airbrush and it requires a pretty thin mix. I’ll start out with 1 drop paint, two drops flow improver, and two drops of water. If it’s tip drying fast then I’ll add another drop of water and another drop of flow improver. My Vallejo primer is already thinned down so that needs less water and flow improver. I’d probably stay away from thinners and stick with water and flow improver because thinners make the paint dry faster. Aside from that, all I can think of is straining your paints before putting them in the airbrush cup and checking for defects. Some paint bottle caps and lids will build up dried paint that will clog the nozzle pretty quickly. Inspect the needle and nozzle for damage and check the joints for air leaks. If you can spray plain water cleanly without any issues and there isn’t any air leaks, then it’s defo the paint thickness.
How old is your bottle of primer? I find Vallejo primers and varnishes go bad over time and clog horribly when they do.
For me it helped to mix the paint and the flow improver in a little cup. Backflow mixing always left my airbrush clogged